France backs Renault COO nomination, seeks Nissan integration

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02/12/2018 | 03:54pm CEST

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PARIS (Reuters) - The French government said on Monday it will back Renault (>> Renault) boss Carlos Ghosn's nominee for chief operating officer but wants an agreement to transform the Renault-Nissan alliance into an "integrated" automotive group.

PARIS (Reuters) - The French government said on Monday it will back Renault (>> Renault) boss Carlos Ghosn's nominee for chief operating officer but wants an agreement to transform the Renault-Nissan alliance into an "integrated" automotive group.

The ministry statement follows the surprise resignations of senior Renault director Thierry Desmarest and executive Stefan Mueller, days before a Feb. 15 board meeting at which Bollore's appointment is expected to be discussed.

The departures came amid concerns raised by other independent board members about the recruitment process that led to the nomination of Bollore, a loyal Ghosn lieutenant, and the elimination of other internal and external candidates including Mueller, Reuters and Les Echos have reported.

Ghosn, 63, "appears to have chosen Monsieur Bollore", the finance ministry source said. "That is perfectly acceptable to the French state shareholder."

However, he added: "If we were to realise later that there was a problem, we would still have time to change our approach." Ghosn's four-year Renault board mandate is up for renewal at the next shareholder meeting in June.

Renault and the government have sought to avoid a repeat of a bitter 2015 clash in which France raised its stake to swing a shareholder vote and secure double voting rights.

The government had also pushed in vain for a full Renault-Nissan merger on terms that would safeguard French industrial interests - and is now reviving demands that Ghosn develop a "road map" to a combined group for submission to shareholders.